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Member Symposium

Phenotypic Plasticity in Insects as Experienced Through Art, Science, and Culture On-Demand Presentations

Plasticity and selection of wing melanin patterns in Pierid butterflies: Looking back, moving forward

On-Demand

Presenting Author(s)

Joel Kingsolver

Professor
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Co-author(s)

MN

Matthew Nielsen

University of Oulu
Oulu, Finland
M. Elizabeth Moore (she/they)

NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology
North Carolina State University, North Carolina

Plasticity and evolution are two imporntat responses of insect populations to rapid environmental change, including climate change. Whether plasticity itself evolves in response to recent climate change has been not widely explored. We address this issue by considering developmental plasticity of wing melanin pattern in Pierid butterflies. We describe two case studies with Colias and Pontia butterflies that make use of historical data from the 20th century to explore potential changes in mean and plasticity of wing melanin in relation to recent changes in seasonal climate.